Braves exercise option on two-time All-Star pitcher

The Braves are bringing back veteran right-hander Charlie Morton for another season in 2024, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, as the club will exercise their $20M team option on his services. Meanwhile, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays that the club is expected to decline their club option on veteran reliever Kirby Yates, opting to pay him a $1.25M buyout rather than a $5.75M salary for 2024.

Morton at one point publicly indicated uncertainty as to whether he’d pitched beyond his mid-30s, but he’s remained a high-quality starter who’ll now return to Atlanta for a fourth year in what will be his age-40 campaign. The veteran righty started 30 games with the Braves this past season, pitching to a 3.64 ERA with a 25.6% strikeout rate, 11.6% walk rate and 43.3% ground-ball rate over the life of 163 1/3 innings. That walk rate was abnormally high for Morton, who’d issued a free pass to just 8% of his opponents in the past six seasons combined, but his fastball velocity held strong at 95 mph.

While Morton isn’t necessarily the top-tier starter he was during his first season in Atlanta, he remains a quality mid-rotation arm. Given the strength of Atlanta’s pitching, he needn’t be any more than that, either. Lefty Max Fried and young righty Spencer Strider rank among the National League’s best starters, and Morton give manager Brian Snitker and the organization a playoff-tested veteran to slot into the rotation behind that excellent pairing.

Righty Bryce Elder’s breakout 2023 campaign likely secured him a 2024 rotation spot as well, and the Braves currently have righties AJ Smith-Shawver, Michael Soroka, Ian Anderson (returning from Tommy John surgery) and lefties Dylan Dodd, Jared Shuster and Kolby Allard as depth options beyond that group. Kyle Wright will miss the 2024 season after undergoing October shoulder surgery, making Morton’s return and the steadiness that he brings to the table all the more pivotal.

The $20M price point at which Morton returns has become the going rate for mid-rotation help — particularly given the short term of the deal. Fellow righties like Jameson Taillon (four years, $68M) and Taijuan Walker (four years, $72M) secured $17M-$18M annual salaries on longer-term deals elsewhere in the league with the general expectation of functioning as third/fourth starters. With that salary now locked in, Atlanta’s payroll pushes north of $202M, per Roster Resource — though trades, potential non-tenders and future free agent dealings will surely alter that number in the weeks and months to come.

As for Yates, he’ll head back to the open market after spending the past two seasons in Atlanta. The Braves inked him to a two-year, $8.25M contract in the 2021-22 offseason, knowing he’d miss the majority of the ’22 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The former All-Star closer and 2019 NL saves leader (41) was one of the game’s best relievers during a brief two-year peak, but he pitched just seven innings in 2022 and battled considerable command issues this past season.

While Yates’ 3.28 ERA during his second Braves campaign was plenty solid, he also walked 14.6% of his opponents. At his best, Yates anchored the Padres’ bullpen with a 1.67 ERA, 38.7% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate, but that form wasn’t on display in Atlanta this year. The Braves were discouraged enough — and possess enough pitching depth — to turn down a net $4.5M call on Yates, who’ll now head back to the open market in search for a new opportunity in advance of his age-37 season. Meanwhile, Atlanta will rely on a relief corps headlined by Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter and recent re-signees Joe Jimenez (three years, $26M) and Pierce Johnson (two years, $14.25M). Both trade acquisitions were set to be free agents before putting pen to paper on new contracts within the past five weeks.